"Dabbatun"
In Sura 42,Verse 29 (42:29) of the Quran,we are told,
"Among His (God's) signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth,and the living creatures that He has scattered through them:and He has power to gather them together when He wills."
Before proceeding further,a point or two must be noted.The word "sama",translated "heavens",is also the Arabic for "sky".One may object that the verse refers to creatures in the sky (which would be birds),not in the heavens.However,birds are mentioned seperately from creatures of the heavens in 24:41,
"Seest thou not that it is God Whose praise all beings in the heavens and on earth do celebrate,and the birds (of the air) with wings outspread?..."
In a note to 42;29,Muhammad Asad states,"In the Quran,the expression "the heavens and earth" invariably denotes the universe in its entireity." The Quran mentions that inanimate objects also worship God:"Do they not look at God's creation, (even) among (inanimate) things- how their (very) shadows turn round,from right to left,prostrating themselves to God..."(16:48).
Therefore,may not the creatures spoken of in 42:29 in the heavens,be inanimate creatures of God.No.The next verse,16:49 goes, "And to God doth obeisance all that is in the heavens and earth,whether moving (living) creatures or the angels..."
The word translated "living creatures" here is the same as that in 42:29- "Dabbatun".Comments Asad,"The word dabbah denotes any sentient,corporeal being capable of spontaneous movement and is contrasted here with the non-corporeal,spiritual beings designated as "angels" ". In other words,42:29 is referring to precisely the type of lifeforms that science is searching for,not some metaphysical entities.Yusuf Ali says,"Dabbatun:beasts,living,crawling creatures of all kind." This is the same word used in 2:164,"...in the beasts of all kinds that He scatters through the earth...are signs for a people that are wise," and in 24:45
"And God has created every animal from water:of them are some that creep on their bellies;some that walk on two legs;and some that walk on four. God creates what he wills..."
Commenting on 42:29,Allama Shabbir Ahmad Usmani says,"From the verse it appears that like on the earth,there are some kinds of animals- living creatures- in the heavens also." On the same verse,Yusuf Ali comments, "Life is not confined to our one little Planet.It is a very old speculation to imagine some life like human life on the planet Mars...it is reasonable to suppose that Life in some form or other is scattered through some of the millions of heavenly bodies scattered through space." From such remarks,the reader will realize that Muslim scholars are well aware of the fact that 42:29 clearly mentions the existence of aliens.
Is there any alien intelligent life ?
Although the discovery of any form of life outside the earth would be dramatic,humankind is especially interested in knowing whether there is any alien intelligent life in the universe.NASA previously had a program on the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI).Although now scrapped due to budget cuts, private SETI organizations have now been made which continue the search.The Planetary Society, a private organization,in which the film director Steven Spielberg is a member of the Board of Directors,has the largest SETI program in the world.So far, no sign of alien intelligent life has turned up.Can the Quran provide an answer?
Sura 27:65 commands,
"Say:None in the heavens or on earth, except God,knows what is hidden:nor can they perceive when they shall be raised up (for Judgement)." This shows that,like humans,there are other creatures in the universe that will also be raised from the dead.We are told in 19:93-96,
"Not one of the beings in the heavens and the earth but must come to (God) Most Gracious as a servant.He does take an account of them (all),and hath numbered them (all) exactly.And everyone of them will come to Him singly on the Day of Judgement.On those who believe and work deeds of righteousness, will (God) Most Gracious bestow love."
From these verses we learn that there are alien lifeforms that,like us,will also be judged according to the works that they do during their lives.Among them are the believers.Therefore,naturally,there will also be those aliens who are unbelievers.The believers will be rewarded.The lifeforms being descibed in the above verses can hardly be expected to be microorganisms.The Quran is referring to creatures of a level of development that makes them morally accountable beings.They must be organisms possessing qualities which we would ascribe to intelligent lifeforms.
In Sura 72:14-15,jinn (a type of spiritual lifeform,which the Quran mention as living on the earth) say,"Amongst us are some that submit their wills (to God),and some that swerve from justice.Now those who submit their wills- they have sought out (the path) of right conduct:But those who swerve- they are (but) fuel for Hell-fire." The Quran mentions that good jinn will be rewarded with Paradise.Summing up from all the above verses,it is clear that Judgement Day is for creatures in the whole universe (Sura 39:68-
"The Trumpet will (just) be sounded when all that are in the heavens and on earth will swoon, except such as it will please God (to exempt).Then will a second one be sounded,when,behold,they will be standing and looking on!")
and like jinn,aliens will also be sharing Paradise and Hell with humans.In fact,the Quran mentions that Paradise is of a size like that of our present universe- 57:21,"Therefore (vie) with one another for the pardon of your Lord,and for a Paradise as vast as heaven and earh, prepared for those who believe in Allah and His apostles."
Therefore, it is not surprising that when we are sharing this universe with aliens,we should share Paradise and Hell with them too.The Quran shows us,therefore,that not only do aliens exist,but among them are also intelligent beings.
Man's position among creation
The most revolutionary discoveries in history have been those which altered the way humans perceived themselves in the universe.We discovered that the earth was not at the centre of the universe.We discovered that our Sun was a very ordinary star located in an insignificant part of an ordinary galaxy,which was only one of millions of galaxies.These discoveries should have humbled us.Yet,even today,many of us triumphantly proclaim ourselves as being the most supreme creation of God.It is common to ascribe our cherished position among all living things to our higher intellectual abilities.If we were to find out that there are other intelligent beings in the universe,and that some may be intellectually more superior to us,where would that leave us ?Would we finally be dethroned?
Sura 17:70 informs us,"Verily We have honoured the children of Adam...and preferred them above many of those whom We created with a marked preferment."
Many translations fail to mention the "marked preferment" in the verse,although the verse contains the Arabic "tafzelan" which conveys this.Note that the verse mentions that there are other creatures besides humans,who have also been given a position of distinction,and humans have been preferred above many,not all,of these creatures.Usmani states in a comment on this verse,"Under this verse a debate is opened:Who is superior- Man or Angel?But logically this verse does not decide the issue." Another scholar has written,"From this (verse) it is evident that whatever superiority humans have got over other creatures is not whole.Allah's creatures contain such creatures upon which humans have got no superiority.
"It must be remembered here that while so far we have been discussing material alien lifeforms,the debate of man's position in creation includes both material and spiritual creatures of God.Some early authorities,such as Hasan,have not accepted the word "akser" mentioned in 17:70 as meaning "many".Hasan maintains that the word "akser",as used in 17:70, should be understood as meaning "all",since the same word is used in 26:233 and 10:36,where it would be inappropriate to take its meaning as "many" but rather as "all".With such a substitution in verse 17:70,the meaning would be altered to mean that man is preferred by God over all creatures.
The debate on man's status continues among scholars and also among the public.Let us make an analogy to the debate of whether man is superior to woman.Suppose for a moment that we hand the trophy to man and let him enjoy his "superior" position.On the Day of Judgement,it will only be deeds that count and good women will go to Paradise and bad men will burn in Hell.Who would have been more superior?As you can see,in the final analysis,any debate on the status of a race,or species is useless.From earlier verses mentioned in this article,the reader will remember that,according to the Quran, God will judge humans as well as aliens on the basis of their deeds and reward them accordingly.Many humans will be sent to Hell for their wrongdoings. At the same time there will be aliens who will be rewarded for their good deeds.Who would be more superior- the unbelieving human or the faithful alien?The answer is obvious.Therefore,what's the use of debating this point?Status of a creature is relative to its moral conduct.Sura 95:4-5 states,
"Surely We created man of the best stature,then We reduced him to the lowest of the low."
Islam and the geocentric universe
It is the fanciful idea of religion-bashers that the discovery of extraterrestrial life will undermine any remaining credibility that religion may have.In the case of Islam,as one can see from this discussion,that can hardly be the case.On the contrary,such a discovery would verify the truth of the statements contained in the Quran relating to the subject of alien life,and strengthen the position of Muslims.The vision of Islam is that of a truly universal religion.It is far removed from the exclusiveness of Judaism ("We are the Chosen Ones for God's message").It is a pity that the image of all religions has suffered a setback from the great scandal of the Church- its treatment of Galileo,for (rightly) challenging their views of a geocentric universe,in which Man was The Central Figure in God's Plan of Creation,living on a planet around which all the rest of creation revolved.
The Quran gives us a picture of our place in the universe that is quite different.In Sura 40:57,God says,
"Assuredly the creation of the heavens and the earth is a greater (matter) than the creation of men:yet most men understand not."
Comments Yusuf Ali,"Man is himself a tiny part of creation.Why should he be so ego-centric?" No one race of humans was chosen to be the exclusive custodians of the truth.Sura 16:36 tells us,
"For We assuredly sent amongst every People an apostle,(with the command),"Serve God,and eschew Evil":of the people were some whom God guided,and others on whom Error became inevitably (established).So travel through the earth,and see what was the end of those who denied (the Truth)."
According to some Traditions of The Prophet (pbuh), 124,000 messengers have been sent into the world by God,throughout the ages to people all over the world.No nation was denied access to the Truth.Even on earth,guidance was provided not only to humans,but also the Jinn who co-habit this planet with us- 6:130:
"(Then He will say):"Jinn and men!Did there not come to you apostles of your own who proclaimed to you my revelations and warned you of this day?"
God's bounty,according to Islam,is not confined to creatures of the earth because He is,
"...Lord of the heavens and Lord of the earth,the Lord of the Worlds" (45:36).
To the people were sent revealed Books also,the last of which is the Quran.About the Quran itself,we are told in 43:4,
"It is in the Mother Book with Us,sublime and full of wisdom."
About other planets,S.Bashir-ud-din Mahmood has this to say,"On the basis of the interpretation of verse 65:12 by Ibn-e-Abbas (May Allah be pleased with him),we can say that inhabitants of these worlds must have their religion like ours and so the Holy Books.They all come from the same "Supreme Source" of revelation from where the Holy Quran originated for us on the Earth.It is evident from the verse of the Holy Quran" (ie.43;4.All Books come from the "Mother Book with Us").The very first verse of the Quran begins,"Praise be to Allah,Lord of the Worlds."
Summing up,while the Quran does point out that man has a favoured position on earth, (2:30-"Behold,thy Lord said to the angels:"I will create a vicegerent on earth.""; 2:34- "We said to the angels:"Bow down to Adam..."" 95:4- We have indeed created man in the best of moulds." there are other creatures of God who have also been favoured in the universe (17:70).Humans are just a small part of God's creation (40:57).When they act wrongly,they are reduced to the lowest of the low (95:5).Salvation is not only for some race of humans, but for all humans and creatures throughout the universe.There is a grand destiny planned by God for all of them.All humans as well as aliens who follow the guidance that God sent to their respective planets,will be rewarded (19:96)."...it is God Whose praise all beings in the heavens and on earth do celebrate..."(24:41). All will return to Him.How far the picture of the universe that Islam paints is from that of a geocentric universe!
Conclusion - a "secret" waiting to be told
If the Quran is so explicit in stating the existence of living organisms in the universe (42:29),we would suppose that the Muslim population would generally be aware of the fact that the Quran mentions extraterrestrials.Unfortunately that is not the case.A significant proportion of Muslims have no idea that this exciting piece of information is provided in their Holy Book.I have quoted a number of scholars in this article,who have commented on the verses relating to extraterrestrials.Among them are those such as Yusuf Ali and Muhammad Asad,whose works are known to Muslims throughout the world.Allama Shabbir Ahmad Usmani was a prominent figure in the Freedom Movement of Pakistan.All scholars quoted are from the mainstream of Islam. So,at least,Muslim scholars are aware of the Quran mentioning aliens.Yet,there are scholars also who have no idea about this subject.Surprisingly,even Maurice Bucaille,whose brilliant book, The Bible,The Quran and Science is extensive in its coverage of scientific topics in the Quran,completely overlooked the mention of aliens.
How aware were the early Muslims,about the existence of extraterrestrials,or verses in the Quran on this topic?Bashir-ud-Din Mahmood writes,"The idea that there is life elsewhere in the universe also,was derived from the Prophet of Allah (pbuh) when he told Muslims,"When you sit down in the prayer for the Attahiyat and say: "Peace be upon us,and the righteous servants of Allah" you actually send peace on all the righteous people living on the Earth and in the heavens."This clearly implies that all type of people,good and bad live in the other worlds as they live on our Earth." He also writes,with reference to the Rasial Imam Ghazali,"According to Imam Muhammad Ghazali (11th Century),people in some of these planetary worlds have learnt to travel and communicate with each other."
The case of Ibn-e-Abbas is interesting.He was one of the Companions of the Prophet (pbuh).The Prophet (pbuh) had prayed to God specially to endow Ibn-e-Abbas with knowledge of the Quran,and he became one of the great scholars of the Quran.Maulana Maududi writing in his Tafhim-ul-Quran,tells us that,"Ibn-e-Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him)...believed with confidence that there are many more earth-like bodies in the heavens. ...He not only thought that such earths are inhabited by intelligent beings but also that their people are exactly like the inhabitants on the Earth.He even went so far as to say that they may have a Prophet like Muhammad (pbuh),and had a Adam,like our Adam,a Noah,like our Noah,an Ibrahim like our Ibrahim,and a Jesus like our Jesus (pbut)." The knowledge of the existence of aliens and that they are mentioned in the Quran, has been present among Muslims from the earliest days of Islam!
There is something else that we know about Ibn-e-Abbas.He did not widely publicize his views about aliens. Rather,he was quite secretive about this matter.The reason is that he was afraid that his ideas would confuse people.In fact,he was afraid that people would be in danger of becoming unbelievers by not accepting the truth of this matter,which the Quran itself attested to.Perhaps it was such considerations that lead Muslim scholars of later times not to touch on the topic of aliens much,and so today,also,so many Muslims remain unaware about this matter.But times have changed.We've come a long way in our voyage of discovery of the wonders that surround us.The recent discoveries of extrasolar planets,of ice on the moon ,of microbes deep beneath the earth's surface and around thermal vents in the oceans ,of water on the sun and many other amazing findings are setting the stage for a grand finale.The public is mentally prepared to hear soon about the discovery of life outside the earth.
In recent times,Muslims have missed golden opportunities of propagating their religion to the peoples of the world.For example,the Quran mentions the expansion of the universe.This phenomenon was discovered by scientists only in 1929.If Muslims had let the world know beforehand,that the Quran mentioned this fact, then upon its discovery,a big impact could have been made on the non-Muslim world.We would have shown the world the power,the miracle,of the Quran.Of course,even today,the miracle remains that the Quran mentions the expansion of the universe,but non-Muslims tend to say,"Now you tell us,after science has already discovered this!You must be construing the meaning of Quranic verses to suit your wishes."
Today,as we stand at the threshold of making the most revolutionary discovery in the history of humankind,we Muslims should ask ourselves,"Hasn't the time finally come for the "secret" that Ibn-e-Abbas held to be made known to the whole world?"Yes,the time is ripe.Let the world know,before it discovers for itself,that 1400 years ago in the deserts of Arabia,a prophet received revelations,mentioning the existence of extraterrestrial life through countless heavenly bodies in the universe,and prophesying that one day, humans will indeed discover aliens.
The Quran contains many amazing statements relating to science.There is no reason to believe that it has finally yielded all of its scientific secrets and as we enter the next century,we can be confidant that the Quran will continue to shed light on some of the most enduring and intriguing scientific mysteries of our times.
